Sod Poodles Drop Finale 7-0

Corpus Christi, TX – The Sod Poodles ended their six-game series in Corpus Christi, dropping the finale 7-0 to the Hooks to officially close the books on the first half of the Texas League season. Amarillo was held without a run for the sixth time this season and was held to five or fewer hits for the third time in four games.

Left-handed pitcher Kenny Hernandez got the start on the bump for Amarillo in his first Double-A action since April 23. Hernandez, the David, Panama native started eight games for High-A Hillsboro, going 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA for the Hops before he was transferred back to Amarillo ahead of Saturday's game. He faced 10 batters, allowing two hits and four earned runs while also walking three Hooks as Corpus Christi took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of Sunday's series finale.

Kyle Mora made his second appearance out of the bullpen for Amarillo since being transferred from the Arizona Complex league on June 16. Mora stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, working around two walks and a single, striking out two to keep the game at 4-0.

Amarillo got their third base runner of the game into scoring position when Drew Stankiewicz walked and then stole second base in the top of the 5th with two outs. He was left stranded when a strikeout sent the game to the sixth inning.

The Hooks extended their lead to 7-0 with a three-run home run after two straight one-out singles. Amarillo would manage just one baserunner after the 5th inning with the final 11 Sod Poodles to the plate retired in order.

LHP Cam Booser spun his fifth straight scoreless appearance in the bottom of the sixth and turned the ball over to Mack Lemieux. A two-out walk kept the Hook's 7th inning alive and then a double put both in scoring position. Lemieux added his second strikeout of the game to end the Hooks' threat of adding to their lead. Blake Rogers pitched a shutdown eighth inning, the third straight since the three-run home run in the fifth.

Amarillo was led offensively by Leandro Cedeño who picked up two of the four Amarillo hits for the game.

After going 4-8 during the 12-game road trip, the Sod Poodles will head back to Amarillo for the start of a six-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Tuesday, June 28. The action returns to HODGETOWN with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Notes:

Time To Start Fresh: The first half of the 2022 Texas League Schedule has officially come to an end as all eyes now turn to the second half of the season with a playoff spot up for grabs. The Sod Poodles finished 32-37 and went 20-19 against their division opponents. The team went 3-5-4 in their 12 series in this first half, never losing more than three games in a row. The Sod Poodles finished the first half with the second-best team batting average in the league at .272, right behind San Antonio who hit .273 in the first half. The Sod Poodles' team average plummeted after hitting .169 (33-for-195) in this six-game series against the Hooks. Amarillo entered the series hitting .281 as a squad. The Sod Poodles' offense finished the first half with 427 runs scored, 30 more than the next closest team in the league, and were the highest-scoring team in all Double-A. The team went 12-12 over their final 24 games, going 8-4 during the two-week homestand before a 4-8 two-week road trip.

More Like Stealesandro: Sod Poodles C/OF Nick Dalesandro overtook Corbin Carroll for the team lead in strikeouts, swiping his 21st base of the season after his single in the second inning. Dalesandro stole an Arizona Diamondbacks' farm system-leading 33 bases a year ago and has racked up 63 stolen bases in his minor league career which spans 208 games over 3+ seasons. His 21 steals are second-most in the system this season, trailing Wilderd Patino who has already swiped 36 bases in his 58 games for Low-A Visalia.

Low On Runs: Outside of the first game of the series when the Sod Poodles scored 10 runs, including a six-run 9th, Amarillo was held to just 11 runs over the final five games of the series. A night after tossing their second shutout of the season, Amarillo was held without a run for the sixth time this year.

The Boose Is Loose: Sod Poodles relief pitcher Cam Booser extended his current scoreless appearance streak to five games and seven innings. Booser took over for Ty Tice in the bottom of the sixth inning. The lefty struck out one in his inning of work. Over this span, Booser has allowed just one hit with eight strikeouts. It's the fourth-longest scoreless appearance streak by a Sod Poodles pitcher this year and the sixth-longest consecutive scoreless innings pitched.

Rogers That: Right-hander Blake Rogers spun his 12th scoreless appearance in his team-leading 23rd game out of the bullpen. Rogers lowered his already team-best ERA to 3.07 including a 2.53 ERA over his last 16 games since the start of May. The Lewisville, Tx native has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his 23 appearances this season. In fact, Rogers has only allowed more than one earned run in four of his 46 games since being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 17, 2021.